Industrialization created asymmetric producer-consumer knowledge that made recovery hard for injured plaintiffs

Evidence

The dramatic transformation of judicial policy from the second to the third regime, like that from the first regime to the second, reflected changes in both social conditions and social philosophy. The industrialization of the American economy in the late nineteenth century led to increased work-related accidents, as workers dealt with more dangerous machinery and materials. Consumers benefited from the wider range of products on the market but often lacked the technical expertise to assess the engineering or safety of modern goods. Neither could they individually bargain with mass producers for guarantees that the goods they bought were safe and durable. But when consumers and workers were injured, product liability law during the second regime made it difficult for them to collect damages. — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 3467

Categorization

• XREF: Frames doctrine as the dependent variable of social change, the book’s core policymaking thesis.